The Dream Crashers ✓

10 - Mud Pits

Chaos, everywhere.

The demons swarmed us from all sides, pressing us closer together.

They were terrifying, with uncompassionate eyes the color of blood. The demons were corporeal under the wispy, black haze, making it hard to distinguish their shapes. Some had claws with long talons. Others looked like stocky snakes with razor sharp teeth.

I felt paralyzed as the other four immediately sprang into action, alternating between defensive and offensive stances like a cohesive unit. The air resonated with the sounds of demonic cries and the whistling of the swords slicing through the air.

I watched Mara fluidly deliver a backhanded slash and kill a demon that had pulled Elijah to the ground by his feet. She kicked Elijah's sword towards him, which was dropped in the struggle, before ducking to narrowly avoid having her throat ripped out by another shapeless dark creature. With a grunt, Elijah rammed his sword into the creature and killed it.

My mind was reeling from all the destruction and violence. Everywhere I looked, there were demons attacking.

"Do something!" Seth yelled. He must've switched the settings on his baton because it was now electrified, buzzing and emitting a blue glow. Seth swung the baton like a bat, taking out three demons. "Stop standing around and help us!"

"I can't," I whispered. I knew there was no way he could hear my words over the ringing sounds of the battle raging on around us.

A particularly large demon made a beeline for me, its sinister crimson eyes never leaving my face. A blood curdling scream ripped from my throat as it got closer. Without a second to spare, AJ appeared out of nowhere, pushing me out of the way and driving his sword upwards so that the demon ran itself into the tip of the blade.

"Are you okay?" AJ asked me, pulling me from the ground. He didn't wait for a response, immediately running off to help Elijah.

"No, I'm not."

My heart rate was spiking. I wanted nothing more but to wake up in my own bed and find out that everything, from my father's disappearance to all this magical mess, was just this—a gruesome nightmare.

I needed to get out of here.

Suddenly, an earthquake hit, shaking the ground beneath our feet. AJ and Elijah waved their arms in the arm to maintain their balance, and crouched near the ground to lower their center of gravity. Seth stumbled and fell as the ground beneath his feet cracked. The baton rolled out of his hand.

"Rory what are—"

The waves above our head turned into storm clouds, releasing a torrential downpour. It draped everyone in a layer of mist, making it hard to see where the demons were coming for.

"For Christ's sake!"

Mara was the only one who seemed undeterred by the quake. She expertly leapt past everyone and bounded towards me, killing any demons in her path. She grabbed my shoulders roughly. "You need to stop freaking the hell out."

A demon soared by, obscured by the heavy rain, and clipped her shoulder. She grimaced, but didn't let go. "You need to stay grounded," she said, through gritted teeth. Her grey eyes burned into mine. "If you wake up, then we all get thrown from your dream and God knows how long it'll take for us to find each other."

The world was fading in and out. In the haze, someone yelled out in pain. It sounded an awful lot like Elijah, but it was hard to tell. I couldn't see three feet in front of me.